February 22, 1996THE MIKE McDONALD BAND SO FAR.
I was pretty upset about Jr. Gone Wild splitting up. All the usual insecurities people get in vulnerable times started in on me. I believed for a time that my career was done, and that without JGW I wouldn't be accepted. It is true that I used JGW as my crutch; it protected me from all the evil things myself and the elements hurled at my hyperbolic perception. I became paranoid. I felt like no one was watching my back anymore. All this an hour after we split! I knew I was doomed to insanity if I didn't do something quick. Washing dishes still holds no allure for me, so continuing my artistic exploration seemed to be the only possible option. There wasn't much doubt anyway.
Every Saturday afternoon, Sherry-Lee Heschel and I hump our Goddamned P.A. to The Black Dog Freehouse on Whyte Ave. in Edmonton, where we either perform at, or generally supervise the event that is popularly known as The Hair Of The Dog which we run every Sat. afternoon from 3-6. After that, we hump our Goddamned P.A. over to the Rosebowl at Jasper Ave. and 117 St., where we either perform at, or just generally supervise the event we put on there that isn't really popularly known as anything (I don't think.) every Sat. night from 10 o'clock on. As you can probably guess, she got an extended earful from me about my fears and aspirations that rivals the pontificatory, fearful, and mostly rhetorical rantings my fiancee Juliette is subjected to on a near daily basis.
At any rate, Sherry was privy to what I was trying to do, and at one point was the only person (including me) who had a clue what I was doing. She plays bass in Hookahman. She plays bass with me now as well. She helped me decide on a guitarist, and a drummer (she helped by suggesting names and running hypothetical scenarios, etc… All the stuff perverts with a fascination for minute detail like me trouble themselves over) who turned out to be Dave Wright and Paul "Duke" Paetz, respectively. Who for the bass? Well, Sherry was at the Raven one night I guess when someone mentioned to her that they'd heard that Dave Wright, her, and I have a band and were looking for gigs. When she told me of this, I saw it as a sign that perhaps the spirits of the community and environment were spiraling beside each other, with the cataclysmic convergence forcing us puny mortals into the twisting vortex of destiny. Or that maybe it was all bullshit. However, Sammy Hagar is in Van Halen now because of the music community (I think it was Rolling Stone or something printed a story that Sammy and Eddy were playing together, and it wasn't true, but S+E said "What the hell", and the rest is mediocre history), and so I said "What the hell", so did Sherry-Lee, and the rest is one day going to be Canadian Rock History.
Back to the insecurities. The Mike McDonald band was assembled within two weeks of the Jr. thing. In an emotional and angry "last JGW interview" with SEE Magazine, I for some reason boldly proclaimed that my new band would be playing within 60 days. When the article appeared in public, I booked us at RATT (U of A) for Jan. 6, and we begun rehearsing in earnest. Many frayed nerves (but no arguments!) later, we made it to the gig, and people came, and they clapped, and they danced, and the band walked away in the typical manner: obsessing over mistakes, and vowing not to make them ever again until the next time.
We've played three times since as of this writing. There are kinks to be sure, but there are no longer unreasonable and debilitating fears preventing me from functioning in the manner to which I am accustomed. The agonies of JGW exist, but that's going to be in my personality forever. To be completely cheesy, the role JGW serves for me now is similar to the ghostly familiar that perpetually bugs the guys from the Haunted Tank comics. If anyone wants to add to this perspective, fell free to contribute. The MMB home page is interactive. Just e-mail me or Steve, and that's all there is to it. Hell, I'll even print the bad stuff. I know there are a few JGW haters out there. I'm occasionally one of them. Thanks for listening.
Mike McDonald